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New York's excursion steamers offered joyous release to a hard-worked immigrant population a few generations ago; here al the turn of the century the Slocum glides past the Ba11e1y. Photos: New -York Historical Society.
New York Observes 75th Anniversary of Slocum Disaster By Wm. Ray Heitzmann, Ph.D.
O n Thursday, June 15, 1904, the pa rishioners of St. Mark 's C hurch on Manhatt an' s Lower East Sid e, set sail on the General Slocum . The Ge rm an Luth erans, mostl y women and children, had looked forward fo r ma ny weeks to their an nual joy-filled excursion to Locust Point , on Long Island So und . Th e big steamer left the East Third Street dock on the East Ri ve r at 9:30, as onlookers waved to their departing fri ends. A short time lat er, as the vessel passed I 13t h St reet, came shout s of "F IR E!" Almost immed iately, the Slocum burst into fl ames. Ca pt ain Van Sc ha lck later remark ed : "As I loo ked back, I already saw a fierce blaze-the wildest I have ever seem ... th e boat was appa rentl y as dry as tinder, a nd burned lik e a match. " Life boat s quickly caught fire and those life preservers not ro tt ed and useless or in fl a mes were fou ght over hy the passengers. Su rvivo r Ma ri e Kreuber recalled : " I was on the upper dec k when I was startled by the cry ' Fire' ... everyo ne became panic stricken th e minut e th e ala rm was give n." Rev. Ju lius G. Schulz o f Eri e observed: "It is abso lutely im possible to describe the horrib le scene on the Slocum. The fl ames spread so rapidly, and it seemed on ly a second before the whole craft was ablaze from encl to encl . Wo men and children jumped in th e wildest mann er to their death, whil e the effort s of moth ers to save th eir little ones was the most heart rending spec tacle I' ve ever witn essed." The disaster claimed 1,024 li ves. The Ca pt ain and crew came under harsh criticism. The Capt a in kept her steaming up ri ve r in an att empt to reach the north side of No rth Broth er Island , while small craft fo llowed th e l'l aming vessel shoutin g to her to sto p so they could aid in the evac uati on. Van Scha lck res ponded to charges: " I kn ew the shore was lined with rock s and the boat wo uld flounci er ... I th en fi xed upo n Nort h Th e ra vaged hulk of the Slocum off North Brother Island, near Hunts Point.
Brother Isla nd ." John Halphusen, th e C hurch's Sexton, report ed : "The crew appeared to be undisciplin ed a nd unfamili ar with th e working o f th e life raft s a nd life boats." Van Scha lck said the crew did " hercu lea n work with th e fire apparatus," but the " rapidit y of the blaze doomed the cra ft. " The di saster was mark ed by hero ism in many quarters; the tu g Wade pulled out many flounderin g in the river; doctors, nurses, and staff from the tuberculosis hospital on the isla nd ran to the waterfront saving man y and rev ived others; o ne ri ve rman fill ed his rowboat to the brim, while others clung to th e sides, and rowed to sa fety; a po liceman, the first to arri ve on the scene, hav ing rescued eleven persons, we nt bac k int o the ri ve r for a nother only to become a victim himself. Swarms of small boats saved many from the river. One courageo us rescuer found the river was so thick with bodies that his life saving act ivities "were impeded by the dead. " A sur vivor recalled "while I was in the wa ter, I saw one ma n in a boat who must ha ve rescued a dozen people. His boat finall y go t so overcrowded that it capsized, and many of the occupant s were drowned ." Th e stress of the situatio n caused one woman to fall to the deck in chi ldbirth. Sh e then took th e child in her arm s and jumped int o the ri ver to avoid the racing fl ames. As the word of the tragedy spread, relati ves, friend s, a nd curiosity seekers thronged to the wa terfront site of the disaster, taxing the restraining powers of the police. Parent s, husbands, and wives threw them selves on the charred bodies of relatives, while oth ers wandered in a daze. Mayor McClellan promptly took
control a nd required city personnel to cooperate and asked the public to aid the injured. Investigations were called for, and President Roosevelt ordered a federa l probe. An already outraged public grew more horrified as local and national. studies showed gross negligence. The fire started in a storage room where some hay had been placed prior to the voyage. The room also housed lamps and oil, excellent kindling for spontaneous combustion . Only 10 of the crew of 34 had previous experience afloat. Some life preservers had last undergone inspection in 1891, others were found to contain lead to bring them to the requ ired weight! Eleven men were indicted for manslaughter; all escaped punishment except the captain, who was sentenced to ten yea rs in prison. Improvements were mandated in lifesaving equipment and in the inspection service. The victims had not totally died in vain . A Slocum memorial com mittee annually recalls the disaster along with some of th e remaining survivo rs, visiting the monument dedicated to the 61 unidentified victims at Lutheran Cemetery in Queens. Those interested in additional information should write Mr . Thomas Switzer, Chairperson, Slocum Memorial Committee, 8919 218th Street, Queens Village, NY 11427. .JJ Dr. Heit zman of Villanova University contributes articles to nautical and educational journals including the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, and is the author of two booklets for young people, "A merica's Maritime Heritage" and "Energy Education ."